Toil and talent behind Laksala handicrafts
Laksala the only state-ownedcraft shop has been a household name for traditional gifts or souvenirs for decades. However, we little stop to think that these products come not from industrial wood cut-outs or from electrical looms but that they are the result of the tireless toil by talented artists and craftsmen.
Working in a community of craftsmen and women. Pic by Susantha Liyanawatte
The craft village of Kalegana in Galle is the source of many of Laksala’s beautiful wooden products and CEO and Chairman of Laksala, Anil Koswatte, Managing Director, Ms. Lakshmi Perera, Assistant Director, Sampath Seneviratne and Gem and Jewellery consultant, Ajith Perera were part of a recent excursion arranged by the company to highlight these craftsmen and women.
A senior craftsmen of the village, Tissa Wevalwela proudly showed us one workshop after another down winding lanes, stating that all these families, among some 5,000 in the village live independently as they have an income, and contribute to the economy in their humble ways.
These workshops are no more than a takarang roof held up by four pillars of wood, adjoining their modest dwellings which are often the stores for their creations. We see a porch full of wooden elephants – truly this is a “cottage industry”.
It is difficult to believe that this serene environment was affected by the civil war, but Tissa explains that the lack of demand impacted heavily on them. “It is difficult to train and employ people as wood carvers because during the war there was little or no demand for our products. Even where this skill has come down from generation to generation the young people started to opt for more lucrative jobs such as working in garment factories.” It is only as of late that the demand has grown bringing with it some measure of financial stability.
K.T. Dhamith Nilantha who carves Buddha statues and figures of fishermen tells us “I can make them more detailed than I do now” cradling a figure he was working on in his hands, adding, “but then I can’t finish the amount required of me, and if I hire anyone I’m not always happy with the quality of the end product and I don’t feel like it’s my best effort.”
Twenty-eight year-old H.M. Ajantha Udeykumara who served in the Air Force from 2007-2012 has found working with wood an ideal occupation after his years of service. He only supplies his hardwood products to Laksala, and says his creations are different because of the blackness of the wood he uses. It gives the elephant a more natural feel, he smiles.
Painters have their role to play. The intricate designs on the wooden elephants are done by painters, one of whom is W. Vijitha. She is on crutches after a leg injury but happily stated that doing business with Laksala was always a pleasure as they pay as scheduled. A visit to the Laksala showroom in Galle is always anxiously anticipated by her children, who are treated to a packet of fried rice in the town with their mother’s pay.
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